I'm pretty circumspect on the matter of abortion. As I see it, it isn't about religion, nor is it about some strict set of moral rules. It certainly isn't about killing babies. What it is about is the well-being and sanity of women, protection of the gene pool, and the inalienable right of choice. It needs to be treated as such.
Within proper bounds, abortion honors humanity and civilization. Unfortunately, the termination of pregnancies has long been a major divider of America, a political football and a growing problem of how to balance the rights of women against the navy-suited white men—the ones with the Bibles and red ties.
As I see it, abortion is a control issue. It's about testosterone, strength, and the well-established dominance of men over women.
Obviously, abortion must have some limits—that's a gimme. But it makes me sad that our weasel legislators keep trying to undermine the rights of America's women to make conscientious choices about their lives. (Do these misogynistic creatures have any love or empathy for their fellow men, or are they part of some sub-human classification?)
Sadly, many of America's congressmen and senators don't care about anything but votes, and they'll do anything to have their names checked on a ballot—including sticking-it to women.
The moral reality is that it is a woman's right to choose, and no one else should be dictating a matter of individual choice. Those old white men and religious zealots should have no say. After all, they're not the ones who must consider the welfare of a child or provide, in the worst-case scenario, a lifetime of care for one who can never fend for itself. With our constitutionally-mandated secular government, the clergy and fanatics should certainly not be making such a call. They are not the ones who will pay the price.
The noble defenders of abortion rights are anything but heartless. That's not so for the smug bigots who seek to hijack women's choices. Pro-Choice advocates are the ones who have sufficient concern and empathy to seek a humane solution for unwanted pregnancy. That said, even abortion's most vocal supporters know there need to be limits on late-term terminations, and there's been a growing assault by the hard-right to make it virtually impossible to terminate a pregnancy. That acknowledgement forces the question: At what point in a pregnancy should the use of abortion be foreclosed?
That makes me wonder: Is it too late to abort Mike Lee? (The presence of reptilian characteristics would have made the decision easy. The things he does and the things he says conjure up an image of vestigial scales and claws.)
If I were writing abortion laws—like Hawley, Lee, and Cruz—I would definitely include the right to abort the spawn of extraterrestrials and creatures of the D.C. slime. Those three aren't complete humans and should never have been allowed to go full-term.
Unfortunately, the three musketeers of right-wing idiocy are consistently behind virtually every legislative attempt to take away Americans' democratic rights. After all, the trio has sought to outright ignore the vote of the American people. That is horrifying, but their latest attempt to undermine women's rights is a disgusting use of their senatorial positions—they're petitioning the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark decision Roe v. Wade.
As Mississippi seeks to have the justices rule on late-term abortion, the Lee et al petition is the insertion of another knife. Sadly, the 6-3 imbalance of the Supreme Court works against the rights of women. Even Amy Coney Barrett, though a woman herself, endangers her gender. People of Praise, a fringe religious organization to which Barrett belongs, holds that the man holds sole authority in the home. She's taken an oath to obey her husband, and that's pretty scary.
Should the Court rule to end the Roe v. Wade decision, it would also trigger a dormant, draconian Utah law that bans abortions for any reason, except rape, incest, and the health of the mother. American women should be scared.
The musketeers are asking for each, individual state to have control over its women's bodies—that's about as American as allowing a gang of local, right-wing zealots to decide whose presidential election votes should be counted. Such decisions must be made on a national level.
Last fall, Lee presented Trump to a rally crowd as a modern-day Captain Moroni—a Book of Mormon hero—showing himself to be on the very fringe of sanity. Even many among Lee's ultra-Mormon following was disgusted with the comparison.
I know, I'm getting a bit off-subject here, but I have to wonder about Mike Lee's mental health when he tries to create a saint from a liar, reprobate, rapist, and thief. He really is delusional.
Just in case Mike Lee isn't swept up to heaven in the Rapture, he'll be using the same transportation as all of us. Of course, Mike Lee probably has many more years before his obituary appears in the newspaper, but I think we should all be concerned over what it will say.
Let's make sure his headstone isn't chiseled with the tragic words, "Mike Lee: Destroyer of Women's Rights."
The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist, and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and the beloved ashes of their mongrel dog.
